David Ortiz squares off against Terry O’Reilly in the second round of the Boston’s Biggest Sports Legend tournament.
Forget slow starts, The New York Times and “the list.” Remember 2004 and 2007. Remember what David Ortiz did to help the Boston Red Sox go from perennial losers to one of baseball’s best. From 2003 to 2008, Ortiz and Manny Ramirez served as one of the most dominant, most feared one-two punches in history. Ortiz, in particular, won over the jaded Boston fan base with his jolly demeanor and fiercely clutch bat, registering a walk-off bomb against the Angels in the 2004 ALDS, a walk-off home run in Boston’s legendary Game 4 win over the Yankees in the ALCS, and a walk-off single in Game 5 of the same series. That year, he finished the postseason with a .400 average, five home runs, 19 RBIs and a World Series ring. In 2006, his 54 home runs broke the Red Sox’ single-season record, and he led the AL in home runs and RBIs. Perhaps most notably, in LIPS (Late Inning Pressure Situations), he had more walk-off base hits than most teams. Big Papi changed the Red Sox.
Terry O’Reilly did a little bit of everything during his career with the Bruins. He took the ice for 13 years, captained the squad for two, coached for a little under two and was never afraid to put fans in their place. In December of 1979 at Madison Square Garden, a Rangers fan stole Bruin Stan Jonathan’s stick and hit him with it. O’Reilly responded by charging into the stands and scaring the living daylights out of the fan. He got suspended for eight games, but it was worth it. He asserted himself as a Black and Gold legend. His best season came in 1977-78, when the winger notched 29 goals and 90 assists. He finished his career with 204 goals, 402 assists, a plus-212 rating and 2,095 penalty minutes. He never won a championship with the B’s, but he was one of the lucky few to have his number hung from the rafters at the Garden.
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